Various devices have been designed for extracting and/or moving ions. These devices may be used in independent or in conjunction with a mass spectrometry system. One type of device that extracts and redirects ions is called a pulser.
Typical pulsers used in time-of-flight or other similar type detectors comprise one or more electrodes for extracting, selecting and moving ions. These devices typically work by sending an ion beam to the device. Once the beam reaches the device, the ion beam enters an extraction region bounded by one or more electrodes. As the ion beam passes the extraction region, a pulse is supplied by an electrode or other device to redirect the ions through one or more additional electrodes that will be used for further processing or selection of ions. The further processed or directed ions are then passed on to a downstream detector for detection and/or quantification of ions and species. In certain instances electrodes may be designed to provide both a “push” and/or “pull” on the ions provided by the ion beam. This may be accomplished with one or more electrodes in the device or system.
A major problem with these devices and systems concerns the issue of high capacitance of the electrode used for extracting, selecting and moving ions. This generally requires increased electrical power that provide for increased cost in operating the instrument. The large power required to operate the instrument often also requires more sophisticated or complex electric circuits. Lastly, large power supplies with high voltage often affect the overall ability of the device or system to achieve good resolving power.
These and other problems have been addressed by the present invention.